Kuwait
Kuwait will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Kuwaiti officials, particularly Customs authorities, continue to make progress on enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting, and to pursue cases through the judicial process. However, the lack of deterrent criminal penalties limits the effectiveness of these efforts. The United States is concerned that several key pieces of IPR legislation have remained pending for many years. The United States has provided extensive technical assistance on legislative updates. The United States encourages Kuwait to pass the necessary IPR-related legislation and to improve its enforcement efforts.
Lebanon
Lebanon will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Lebanon has been moving forward incrementally on fighting piracy and strengthening enforcement of existing IPR laws, and actions by the Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Rights Bureau of the police department have been responsive to rights holders' concerns. The government has demonstrated a commitment to protecting IPR by expressing its intention to ratify the WIPO Internet Treaties, by reengaging with U.S. technical experts on the update of the 1999 Copyright Law, and through training and public campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the importance of IPR protection. However, concerns remain over weak enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting, including counterfeiting of medicines. The Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Rights Bureau lacks ex officio authority and requires continued training to deal effectively with infringements on the Internet. There is also a need for deterrent sentencing for IPR crimes. Lebanon also does not provide effective protection against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test data or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products. The United States encourages Lebanon to pass the pending legislative amendments to strengthen IPR protection, and will continue to engage with Lebanon through its WTO accession process and through an ongoing review under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program.
Malaysia
Malaysia will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Malaysia continues to express a commitment to protecting and enforcing IPR, and to pursuing needed legislative and regulatory improvements. Enforcement efforts, especially in the business software area, improved last year, and industry reports increased responsiveness from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives, and Consumerism to their requests for enforcement actions. However, piracy and counterfeiting remain widespread, and enforcement efforts continue to decline. The United States encourages Customs officials to initiate IPR investigations ex officio, as authorized under Malaysian law. Enforcement campaigns were successful in targeting pirated business software, but book piracy remains problematic, and industry reports a rise in Internet piracy. The specialized IPR courts continue to face a backlog, and additional resources and training are required to address this problem. The United States encourages Malaysia to accede to the WIPO Internet Treaties and
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